Slowly climbing back in the wagon!

Greetings fellow foodies!

It has been awhile since I have written. So much has transpired. First of all my wonderful guy has had some medical issues that have put us both on awareness of what we have been putting in our bodies. We are back to making much better choices, although I still refrained from frequenting the fast food joints. "GO ME" I still was not eating the best I could. However, the result of making better choices is starting to show. I find my clothes are starting to get to big!  Now that is a plus. I am not sure I've lost any actual poundage, the scale and I aren't exactly good friends! But when I can slide my skorts, and shorts down without unbuttoning and when I walk around I feel them sliding down. I feel that is an accomplishment! 

We have added back more fresh salads, and eating more fresh vegetables. I haven't started the exercise thing yet and that is on the list as well. We are limiting our meat intake and I'm working real hard to moderate or even say no to dairy!  Now that is hard, this gal loves her cheese!!!!!! 

I have frozen about 8 bags of fresh tomatoes to date. I just love making fresh sauces.  Anyone have a good one for tomato basil?

I am doing my best to limit or eliminate sugar and white flour. I have felt those effects. I gotta tell you, last Tuesday I could of beat up an ole lady for a candy bar!  People argue that sugar doesn't hurt you, some argue its a drug. I lean towards it being a drug. Try going off of it, and see what happens.  You feel like you want to kill someone, your body screams for it!  It's ugly! You truly go through withdrawals!

I have found a new grain I've not used before, Quinoa. I like it!  I do not have a whole foods close to me, but I do have an EarthFare which is along the same lines and they offer a very wide selection of pre-made organic foods. I was able to try this grain and found I really like it! It is also very versatile. So give it a try if you have not and if you have, shoot me some recipes!

Ok folks I must be off, duty calls.  I hope you have a fabulous weekend and keep up the good eating!

Gardening

Greetings Fellow Foodies,

I don't think I have told you this, but we have a garden.  Two actually, we have a garden in our back yard along with being involved in the community garden supported by the local College.  Last night was community garden night and we managed to get quite a few tomato's and green beans.  I also adopted another plot, that was sadly very neglected! But growing tomato's like mad!  The more tomato's the better! The community garden is doing a fall planting which I am very excited about. I am currently reading up on how to preserve all this fresh food. We can't possibly eat it all, course we do contribute to the local food bank what we know we will not use!

Now, I am a city girl.  I have no idea how to can, although I am very good at freezing! I have decided to learn to can this year so that I can start canning some of our harvests along with making some stews for those quick dinners. I am determined that nothing will go to waste and with the rising costs of food, I think it is a no brainer! Plus I know what was used on these vegetables and how they are being processed!  To me its a win win situation.  The downfall, I have a very tiny kitchen! 

This weekend I will be blanching and freezing tomato's for homemade sauce through the winter. Along with freezing tons of squash and zucchini that I can use in stews and soups!   I will keep you informed of how everything goes!  I have a few of my own special recipes for soup and sauce that I will share with you later! 

Wish me luck!!!!!!!

I'm holding onto the wagon!

Greetings fellow foodies!

It has been awhile since I've posted anything on here. First of all, I am happy to say I have been avoiding fast food like the plague. Not to say I've not had anything greasy, as a matter of fact, I've got a whole other list of foods that I eat in moderation or not at all. But, I am proud to say Mcky D's and anywhere like it, isn't getting any of my business.

I have discovered since food prices have started to go up, some of my favorite Pizza places are moving to cheaper ingredients. Now I am somewhat of a Pizza snob. Quality restaurant Pizza doesn't come cheap and unfortunately since they are using cheaper ingredients, I cannot justify paying a hefty price for them. When I open my Pizza box, I do not expect to see grease laying on the top. I've had to axe a few of my favorite joints. I can make Pizza at home and its so much better and a whole lot more nutritious!

I can't lie, I haven't been eating the whole foods like I need to be. It is very hard to stay faithful, I can say that I am definatly moving towards the healthier lifestyle by cutting out fast food! One day at a time! Next on my list is to get off snack foods! 

Fell off the wagon

Greetings fellow food peeps. It has been a long time since I've written. To make a long story short, I seriously fell off the whole food wagon. That is it, plain and simple.  I've suffered for it. I've had serious tummy/intestine issues. Last weekend was the all time kicker. I must put it in writing so that when I get the urge again, I can look back and read. Last Friday night, my family and I ate at a Chinese Buffet. First of all let me say, it was not my idea. I do not like buffets. Generally what is on them is nothing but fried and just plain nasty stuff.  Second, sometimes we must let others decide where to go! (psst I wanted to go to the Japanese Steak house). Anyway, since I have issues with buffets and with Chinese fast food to begin with, I stuck to what I knew, the fried food.  OMG I suffered for 3 days. ***Side note, I am not afraid to try new foods and love to experiment. However, Chinese Buffets scare the hell out me.***


With my gut killing me all day Saturday into the evening, I made a promise. Lay off the fried foods, fast food, and processed food.  I've also discovered that sugar will put a hurting on me as well. Eating to much meat will also make my intestines talk to me.  I know that eating fresh whole organic foods doesn't hurt.  Sunday, I hit the grocery store with a vegetable vengeance

So peeps, I'm back to keep you aware of what is going on.  My wonderful guy made his awesome salad. We have a couple vegetarian dishes to try and lets get this jump started once again!


Tootles

Working towards the goal.

Now I ask myself, why do I continue to eat all that bad food?  The answer is, because its made to taste good. We are bombarded day in and day out with commercials leading us to believe that we have no time to make our own food, making us believe that its good for us. Because we have all eaten this, the information we are given makes us think of it and begins the process of desire. Not to mention the ease and connivance of quick processed foods is very very enticing to me and to all of us.

I have more research information about my journey into whole foods. But right now I want to share what my family has been doing the last 2 weeks.....

For the last 2 weeks, my house has been on a journey of exploring whole foods. Myself, Tim (my partner) and his son. I will be honest, eating whole foods is a lot of work. Both Tim and I work an hour from home, so we spend 2 hrs a day just driving. By the time we get home at 6, we are tired and ready for dinner. I won't lie, we have cheated a few days by eating out. But for the most part, we have stuck with this.  We sit down and pick out 2 new recipes a week from our vegetarian books that sound good and made them.  We also try and buy organic when its available.  We live in a small town and our local Kroger doesn't have a huge organic selection. About every other week we have ventured to Whole Foods to help with some of the ingredients we need. Our meals are planned around vegetables, beans and whole grains.

We do rely on the ole standbys of Veggies Stir fries, and lots of salads. We have always loved veggie stir fry with some sort of meat, I just remove the meat now! With veggie stir fries, you can serve them all sorts of ways.  I have served them stuffed in whole wheat pitas with hummus. Or mixed them with whole grain pasta.  You can always make a vegetable fajita as well. Just get whole grain fajitas.  We have been using our imaginations.  I have also introduced black bean burgers into our house and they were eagerly accepted and they are on the keepers list. As well as baked felafel's too!  We have made a dish or two that wasn't kept on the list. The fact is, we are trying to add variety and good nutrition to our lives.

Our salads are not your typical salads.  We have found we love kale, there are many varieties too, another favorite is called dino kale (Lacinato Kale),  cabbages, all the different peppers, broccoli,We use any raw vegetable we can find to make different salads. Don't be afraid to use herbs too.  We love cilantro in salads, along with seeds and nuts! We have learned to chop up the salads and store in a good air tight bowl. This does save time.

We have also learned that it is a good idea to plan the meals and have the ingredients ready to go. We are also learning that we have to prepare and prep the vegetables and keep them in air tight containers and also in order to keep our produce fresh, we have to shop more than once a week. I sometimes get off work earlier and will stop and pick up some on the way home. It is not a major inconvenience.

We are also trying new homemade dressings. I have always been a creamy kinda gal, but that is chalked full of fat and chemicals, so I'm training my taste buds to like more of the vinegar ones.

Just in a short amount of time we have both found that we feel better and really not missing meat and dairy and processed foods all that much. We have also noticed that when we do eat what is considered "normal" we don't feel as good the next day. Maybe we are on to something?

Scary Stuff

I don't know how many of you have seen this article, but I am going to post the address for viewing.

http://shine.yahoo.com/healthy-living/seven-million-tons-8220-pink-slime-8221-beef-180500764.html

When I read this article, I about fell off my chair. The FDA approves this..............garbage is the only word I can think of.  This is why food labeling is so important.  I am fairly sure not one of us would run to the grocery store to buy this and serve it to our families.  However, according this article, that is exactly what we are doing. If Food Companies had to put everything on a label that goes in our food, and we as consumers took the time to research what those things were, we would probably not buy the products and demand more natural and less tampered with products.  We all know that fast food is bad for us. We all chose to eat it anyway, but beware, you never know what is lurking in it!

MSG  here are some interesting articles on MSG. Which I am certain I mentioned before.

http://www.ezhealthydiet.com/msg-side-effects.html

http://www.msgtruth.org/whatisit.htm

http://www.100daysofrealfood.com/2012/03/09/some-disturbing-news-articles/

I like this woman. I follow her site!



It is time we stood up and asked, what is in our food?

Slow Awakening

     To make a long story short, I've been "dieting" on and off for years, the same with all of you. I recently started having some health issues that slapped me in the face.  I started noticing when I ate sugar, I would get a headache, and also major flare ups on the acid reflux.  When I ate a lot of greasy fast food, I would develop stomach cramps and also major diarrhea. I thought, ok your getting old, you can’t take it anymore. But I also know that diabetes runs in my family and started doing research on the symptoms. As it turns out I have most of the symptoms. So I made a trip to my doctor to get my blood tested.  No I do not have Diabetes, but I do carry the gene (I didn’t know there was a diabetic gene, I guess you do learn something new every day) and I am borderline on getting it. I also have high blood pressure and all that nasty stuff in the blood that isn’t good for us. I do not believe in taking 30 medications for something that I can control myself.  I've never had a history of high blood sugar; it has always run low and the same with my blood pressure.  Both are high because I AM OVERWEIGHT. I can control both with what I choose to eat. It is not McDonald’s fault that I chose to stuff my face with Big Macs.  I'm a grown woman who can make my own decisions.  I have all this knowledge in my head.  I know what’s in my food and I know there is a lot of crap that I don’t know about in my food.  Time to come out of the closet and make myself healthy.

The addict

I am a sugar addict.  Yes I will admit this.  I spent years denying this. I really didn't seek out what I consider sugary foods,  but if they were available I was all in. I am more of a bread, fat, and pasta lover. OMG give me a big ole bowl of hot pasta smothered in butter. I'm one happy gal, until the guilt sets in. Ok I digress.... Just about anything we put in our bodies that is processed has a form of sugar in it or our body turns it to sugar.  So yes I'm a sugar addict and I am guessing, so are you.  Sugar is toxic.  Sugar is addicting.  All those wonderful fat free foods the diet industry has been pushing down our throats are chalked full of sugar. Why? To give it flavor. When you take away the fat, which is flavor, you have to replace it with something else.  Take a good look at the list of ingredients.  If it has an ingredient or two or three that ends in "ose" there is a good chance it's a form of sugar. On the other hand if it's fat free and sugar it is chalked full of artificial sweeteners.  I never liked artificial sweeteners. They taste funny and contrary to what you think, they make you crave more sugar.  I do like Stevia witch is a natural sweetener made from the Stevia plant. But still I do not use a lot, because, I try and stay away from all artificial sweeteners. I don't like eating or drinking food that are mostly made up of chemicals. I have an issue with lunch meat too.  Fresh meat in my fridge only lasts about 3 days before it starts going bad.  Lunch meat can lasts for months.  Makes me wonder what have they done to it to make it last that long.  Most processed foods aren't real food, therefore, they last. But meat?  That is supposed to be a real food....................

Folks the wonderful food industry, which is monitored by our own government, puts things in our food that we will never know about.. Here take a look at common additives in candy.  (http://www.ctahr.hawaii.edu/oc/freepubs/pdf/FST-9.pdf). Nice huh?  They add chemicals which promote addiction issues. There are some lucky people out there who are immune to those chemicals.  Most of us are not.  (To think you have been thinking what a waste of life you were because you can't kick that Twinkie habit)  You can test this theory yourself.  Ever had breakfast at McDonalds then by lunch you were salivating thinking about having McDonalds again? Oh those fries..................gives you warm and fuzzy feelings just thinking about them doesn't it.  I'm fairly sure this isn't normal. I'm really sure they add chemicals to help you along with these thoughts.  Hell you can test this theory out with about any processed food you have in your kitchen.   MSG is a nasty chemical. Not only is it a flavor enhancer, it is also an addicting agent. It's in about everything we eat.  And the fast food industry loves it.  Keeps us foodies coming back! here was a big stink about it a few years ago and all the companies to remove it, but most of them just went to an alternative which is the same thing with a different name.  Here is an article I read. (http://www.msgtruth.org/avoid.htm)   And folks, our government approves all this crap and doesn't require the food companies to list most of the chemicals used. I acquired a lot of this knowledge from another series of books I've read by Kevin Trudeau. I know he has been claimed to be a big conspiracy theorist, but what he had to say made a lot of sense to me. He apparently worked in the food industry for years.  It made me start thinking and doing my own food testing. I find it ironic, that I can eat a box of macaroni and cheese and before I am finished I am already thinking and craving something else that is high in fat, calories and full of chemicals. How many of you can eat one cookie, or eat just small handful of potato chips. I can't. For years I considered myself lacking in will power, and lazy.  Why?  Because that is the general opinion on fat people. (What didn't make sense was that I could accomplish about anything else I set my mind to. Sound familair to anyone else?)  There are some people out there who can eat one cookie, or have 3 potato chips.  I don't know many of them.  Mostly, I think they just stay away from it.  I don't seem to have that problem when I'm eating whole foods such as apples, or banana's, or meals made up of vegetables, beans and whole grains.  Ever O'D'd on apples?  Me either. Do your own testing. Pay attention to what your body tells you. 

I will be honest, as with any addition, there are side effects to stopping the intake of sugar. It's worse than the caffeine withdrawal.  When you withdrawal from sugar, you feel like a junkie.  You can feel sick, you get headaches, you can cramp. Your brain even goes through withdrawals, it screams at you for a cookie.  What does that tell you?  Sugar is pretty powerful stuff.  How do I know all this?  I've done a few detoxes in my time.    And I've got a couple of buddies who went through it with me. They can add their own comments.

More on beginnings

          We can't know what drove us to decisions without knowing the past. My decision to end dieting came after I read a book called "When Food is Love" by Geneen Roth. What an mind opening book that was. (By the way, I am a self help book junkie) This book caused me to look deep inside and ask myself why I would binge eat. Why food was so important to me.  Why I thought food was my friend?  Folks, I had some eye opening deep realizations about my childhood and thought processes that were developed as a result of it. This book started my peacemaking within myself and things that had happened to me as a child.  As a child we don't have much control over what happens to us.  As adults we have all the control as to what happens to us. We also have the intelligence to decide to either face the trauma's of our childhood, accept it is what it is, realize we can't change it, or to continue to let it define our future.  This choice is yours alone. I chose to face it and accept it what it is, and it will not define who I am today. I am no victim and I will not live my life being the victim. I make my own choices in the path I follow. (I will not go into this. It is deeply personal and we all have our burdens to bear.) Thanks to this book I realized that I was using food as an excuse to "numb" myself from those traumas.

             Food can be used as a drug. I used it for years, and sometimes I still succumb to it Old habits are hard to bread sometimes.  Food is a legal drug. When you are standing in front of that cheese cake, or cookies, or whatever comfort food you go after, stuffing your face as fast as you can, you are in a different place. Your whole world is right there. There is no loneliness, no hurt because that special person didn't call, no boss stressing you out. There is just you and the food.  Not to say that the consequences do not come later. But for the moment, you are in the zone and nothing else is important except stuffing your face as fast as you can, to feel.....................nothing.  I call this the food numbing sensation. You go back to the couch or the bed and you just lay there content, still lost in the wonderful sensations. (some of you may not understand this, a lot of you know exactly what I am talking about). Then you "wake" up and reality sets in....................the consequences of that behavior hits you like a baseball bat. The self loathing, the that negative voice in your head starts telling you, you are worthless, you are fat, you are ugly, you don't deserve love, you are lazy and lack any kind of control over yourself. The list goes on and on folks.  This voice, in your own head, confirms the very reasons you binged out in the first place. So guess what, it becomes a never ending cycle.  You don't need any outside forces kicking you and believe me there are plenty, you are very capable of taking care of this yourself. ( I told you this could be ugly) Any of this sound familiar?  I am no therapist, although I think I missed my calling and should of been. So I recommend if food is a real issue with you, read the book or seek professional help. You are not alone!

The very beginning

     Welcome back fellow foodies. Its 5:30 A.M. on Saturday and yes I am bright eyed and bushy tailed.  Don't ask me why. I guess because it is Saturday and I don't have to get up for work.  Monday through Friday, when I have to get up for work, I could sleep till noon, but come Saturday and Sunday when I can well it just doesn't happen too often.  So Good Morning!  As I explained earlier, this is my journey into a better way of eating. I've always been interested in the natural way of doing things.  Even mental and spiritual issues. I read spiritual books, meditation books, books on changing your attitude and ways of thinking. They intrigue me. Some have worked over the years, some I just never grasped the concept, or since I don't have a lot of patience to follow through and make the changes they fell to the way side. I've also read a lot of diet books.  Yes that nasty 4 letter word, I just used it. I started gaining weight after my father was killed in 1975. I was 10 and that is when I discovered food and decided it was my friend.  My weight fluctuated throughout childhood and adolescence.  Mostly it depended on my activity level at that time.  This was the beginning of all those tasty processed sugary treats so easily acquired for about a quarter! This was also the beginning of my lifetime achievement of binge eating. 
 
      I have followed a lot of diets in my life time just like the rest of you. They lasted about 3 weeks then the novelty wears off.  Frankly I hate weighing my food. I hate watching every little thing that I put in my mouth. They say keep a journal, yeah right, I never could do that.  I can't decide if it is because I'm lazy, or because I just don't want to know. That is a lie, we know, us foodies,  we know everything we put in our mouth, now we might not admit it, but we know! So to make a long drawn out story short, I've been on about every diet out there, minus the ones like the grapefruit diet.  I hate grapefruit and I just can't seem to limit myself to eating one thing.  My weight fluctuated throughout childhood and adolescence.  Mostly it depended on my activity level at that time, which is true with most kids.

      I did have success on the Atkins but at a cost no one was aware of at that time.  I did the Atkins back in high school (back in the 80's). Myself and my girl friend followed it faithfully. We lived on Vienna sausages and fresca.  Oh yeah remember fresca?  We ate bacon, eggs, cheese, meatloaf, hamburger, fried chicken, oh and pork rinds.  Take a look at this list.  We lived on fat, fat, fat,  and more fat. Oh and cant for forget the saccharin we were pumping into our bodies from all that fresca. I didn't even like diet pop, I really didn't drink a lot of regular pop either, but it was filling.  We both lost a lot of weight.  I did the diet again back in the 90's. Again I lost a lot of weight, but I also lost brain cells. Believe it or not, our brains need carbs to function properly. I was having difficulty concentrating, thinking straight, and I would forget something that was just told to me I felt lost a lot. (Ok for my sarcastic friends, yes I can do that now, but it was different back then). I started doing some research and paying attention, that is when I realized that doing the Atkins Diet was somewhat dangerous. Not to mention one good down home meal and everything you accomplished was gone in one dinner!  One cannot live on fat alone, take a good look around this fine country and this holds true. For the record I believe that Weight Watchers is an excellent diet. I've been on it. It teaches portion control (which we all need) and for the most part good nutrition. As I mentioned above, I just am not interested in weighing every little thing I eat. I am not that disciplined. And I'm lazy, there I said it!  I have a personal statement. Many years ago, I decided that I would never "diet" again. Why?  Stay tuned for more later!

 !

The beginning

Greetings fellow foodies.  As I mentioned in my "editorial" I am a closet nutritionist. I have been reading about nutrition since I was a young adult.  I think it started with my Mother always telling me that I was fat. (That is another story) I have known for years that good nutrition = good health, I think we all do. However, do we really know what good nutrition is? We know what the media tells us. We know what our parents told us. We know what our Doctor tells us, assuming they have. But, do you really know? Do you know what a good carb is and what a bad carb is?  I've been reading and watching some documentary on the subject. I will share these and the books and what I have learned and what I am finding to be real by  my own experiment.  I'm not going into the dark realm of science here. My brain can't handle that. Science was never my strong subject, but we all eat. We all can detect changes in our bodies if we pay attention.  I'm paying attention and this is my journey...............